Mine eyes have seen the glory

The eyes are the windows of the soul, it's been said, and as far as one ocular expert in Franklin is concerned, eyewear should be the mirror of the personality. Dr. James Tilley owns CharacterEYES Eyecare and Optical in downtown Franklin, in an historical building where he's making no small contribution to the modern-day history of eyeglasses as fashion statements.

CharacterEYES is an optical boutique where clients can come for vision correction, and also to have their eyes opened as to the possibilities for self-expression through eyewear. "Glasses can make you look younger," Tilley says. "They project an image. They give you a presence. " One of his customers owns an Oriental rug store in Vermont and travels the world buying his merchandise. The first day he wore the new glasses he bought at CharacterEYES, he had his biggest sales day ever. He called Dr. Tilley to let him know.

"He said that people told him he'd never looked so engaging."

Penny Fishpaw, a Licensed Dispensing Optician, is Tilley's colleague in the enterprise and its principal stylist, which is to say that she helps clients select eyewear that will not only suit but will enhance their appearance. CharacterEYES offers a complimentary Eyewear Makeover, similar to a beauty-salon makeover, to arrive at eyewear nirvana. The procedure eyeballs one's skin tones (are you summer, winter, spring or fall?), hair and eye color and facial shape to determine which lenses and frames will best compliment those features, and the analysis extends to one's clothing styles and colors, activities, attitudes and demeanor - in short, it strives to make you over in your own image.

The boutique's elegant eyewear, arrayed on glittering glass shelves, comes from all over the world: Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Denmark, France and Japan, as well as the U. S. Many are hand-made and limited edition. Styles are varied and materials run the gamut from color-infused plastic to titanium (lightweight and non-corrosive) to precious metals to renewable-growth buffalo horn and exotic woods. The shop's interior gleams with maple and cherry wood, imparting a Scandinavian look.

"People come in because of the exterior (a vibrant gold) and linger because of what's inside," Tilley says. "We've tried to make things fun and colorful." Tilley's vision of an upscale eyewear and eye care facility took shape a decade or so ago. Trained as an electrical engineer, he had a first career in corporate America, which implanted an attention to detail as well as the determination to have his own business. He went back to school, this time to the Pennsylvania College of Optometry, graduated with honors, and set his sights on Middle Tennessee as fertile ground for his future endeavor. In Nashville, he went to work with other doctors, saving up and biding his time, and met Fishpaw. The plan eventually came together, and the CharacterEYES opened in April 2004.

CharacterEYES offers complete eye exams, during which patients spend 45 minutes with the doctor. It's here that the exploratory process often begins - doctor and patient familiarEYES themselves with one another -- on the way to fitting the client with eyewear that is ideally functional as well as perfectly fashionable.

"Penny's been doing this for 20 years and I've been doing it for almost 15," Tilley says. "We're not going anywhere. We're here to listen to what the patient says."

Both associates have always worn glasses, and they see eye-to-eye on the idea that eyewear should evoke a style and exhibit a personality, not just blend into a face.

CharacterEYES is at 407 Church St., Suite 1 in Franklin. Call 615-599-1800. Eye exams include screening for cataracts, glaucoma, macular degeneration and other disorders. Contact lens services include fitting for the difficult-to-fit, astigmatism, bifocal and multi-focal contacts, 30-day continuous-wear and gas-permeable lenses.